I’m not a stranger to printmaking and presses- I specialised in the subject when training to be an art teacher in 2000. As a process it was exciting and I longed to take the whole package into my classroom and spread the printmaking magic. My first classroom even had an etching press bolted to the floor, but it stood forlornly and looked on at the hustle and bustle without ever really being involved. It had no blankets and needed some tlc that our meagre department budget could ill afford. When I did try to get it going, it was so heavy and unwilling, that my students and I decided to leave it be.
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As time has passed, I have used spaghetti-making machines and portable presses that left my palms sore and indented with their turning wheel. With no real weight behind them, I have always been disappointed by the lack of oomph in them and the missing magic of the print reveal.
I first tried a Gunning press on a collagraph course by Jenny Gunning and my mind was blown. This is how a press should actually work. For those of us old enough, you could compare it to slipping behind the wheel of a car with power steering, after driving an older car without for many years.
I knew immediately that my life would be infinitely better with the addition of a Gunning press to my own studio and although I couldn’t love my studio more, space is an issue. I teach regularly in there and so often have students work amongst my own work and countless materials. I loved the larger press but it would absolutely not be feasible for me.
My work is usually on the smaller side, copper plate mezzotints often, A4 maximum and so when I saw the Little Thumper I knew it was the answer.
This utter beauty is already making a huge difference to my life as a printmaker. My hands have been saved from gripping the ridiculously small wheel of my previous press for a start. It has taken some getting used to though. My brain needed to make it hard at first, as that really is what I’ve known for so long. It has been tricky gliding the plate through as I wait nervously to see if that smooth, easy action really is enough to get a really good quality print. And it is. And this is just the beginning…..
Stefanie Smith
You will find me in the woods, listening for birds and looking for the tiny details that each season has to offer, often with a sketchbook in hand.
Born in London and raised in Hertfordshire, I graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 2000 with a degree in Applied & Media Art and the following year trained to be an Art and Design teacher, specialising in printmaking.
Now settled in Surrey, my work, inspired by beautiful local surroundings, often starts in paint but finishes in various printmaking techniques – particularly mezzotint and collagraph.
I exhibit with Surrey Artists and have been included in the V&A, London ‘Inspired By’ exhibition and New Designers in Islington, London. More recently, I have exhibited with Ironbridge Fine Arts as part of their Printmakers exhibition 2023.
